Pants or trousers construction



Feb. 5, 1929.

F. L. McMULLEN PANTS o TROUSERS coNsTRUCTIoN Filed July 26,' 1926 WH n eooeo Patented Feb. 5, 1929.

UNETED STATES FREDERICK LEWIS MGMULLEN, 0F MIIHVAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

PANTS 0R TROUSERS CONSTRUCTION.

.Appneanon med. July' 2e,

This invention relates to garments, particularly to pants or trousers, and has tor its object the provision oi a construction embmilying a novel closed or corded seat seam and Waist band connection, together with the method of producing the same, the arrangcment and method ot formation being such that alterations in the size ol' the Waist and seat may be ei'l'ected with the minimum labor. lt Well known in the art that there are two types of seams used in the formation oit the seat portions ot pants or trousers, nan'ieiy, the open seam and the closed seam. The former is made simply by superposing the two pieces of cloth or leg sections to be secured, stitching them along a single line, unfolding and then pressing down and back the marginal edges which project beyond the seam. rllhis type is used only in the making oit' dress trousers or those not subject to severe Wear. The closed seam is the type used in the making` of Work trousers, overalls and the like, which are subjected to hard weer, and is the type eniployed in the present instance. f 'lhe closed seam may be considered as being corded or Welted and quite natural ly possesses a far greater degree of strength and resistance to strain than the open seam1 'facts which recommend the employment ot this type in connection With Work clothes. It is also Well known that the present method ot making a closed or corded seat seam is such as to permit of alterations to increase the size, but the band provided is usually so arranged that it must either be ripped oli'i and replaced with :i larger one or it must be ent and an insert set or stitched therein, the in` sert consistingsimply ot an adiflitional piece ot banding. ln case a reduction in size is desired it is neces-lary to split the banding and to rip back on each side ol the seam the amount necessary, subsequently to which the banding must be restitched. Obviously, the making ot alterations either to increase or decrease the size of a garment embodying` the ordinary closed seam and Waist band connection requires considerable time and labor. It is 'with the above facts in View that l have designed the present invention which has tor a more specilic object the provision ot a seat seam ot' the closed type in combination with a split band readily capable of being` lengthened or shortened in accordance With variations in the location ot the seat seam necessitated by alterations in the size of the garment, it being unnecessary at any time 1926. Serial N0. 124,942.

to replace the band or to rip it oli' from the leg sections, the labor of making alterations be ing consequently cut down to the minimum Without in `any Way detracting from the strength of the garment. l

To the attainment of the foregoing and other objects and advantages the invention i;)referably consists in the construction and arrangement of parts and the method steps to. be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompany ing drawing, in which I- Figure l is a ii'ragmentary vien' of the inside oli' the waist portion of a pair of trousers, this view showing the marginal eXtensions of the leg sections separated at the seat seam and also showing one end `ot' the split band Jolded back or into open position.

Figure 2 is a similar view with the free end of the split band in proper position with respect to the marginal extensions of the leg sections but not stitched down.

Figure 3 a similar View showing the band stitched down in place.

Figure d is a view similar to Figure showing the appearance after the garment has been altered to increase the size at the seat and Waist.

Figure 5 is a view looking at the outside ot the garment or the reverse side ot' that shown in Figure l.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numerals l0 and 1l designate the two breadths or pieces of fabric tor 'forming the rear portions ot the leg sections ot a pair ot lrouserr-s, these pieces being` united at the center of the back or :it what is called the seat seam. lfn accordance with the iin'esent invention the upper edges ot these pieces l() and il are folded over inwardly upon themselves as shown at A waist band section 13, preferal'ily providedv with a lining li, is then. placed against the inner tace of surface ol each o't 'the sections l() and il, Jrior to their connection by the seat seam to be described. the edges ot the band sections being turned in indicated at 15, in the customary manner. The band sections are then united to the sections l() and ll by rows et stitching 16 near the upper and lower edges. The band on the leg section ll may terminate ilus-h with the edge of the fabric, Whereas the band on the leg section l0 is of greater length to provide a tree end portion 17 which projects beyond the edge of the fabric in the form of a tongue.

The two members or sections and 11 are then arranged in superposed relat-ion and united by .a line of stitching 18, after which the pieces or sections are flattened out or extended into the position shown in Figure 1, the marginal portions beyond the lines of stitching lying together against one leg section. Subsequently to this, stitching is effected along a line E in spaced substantially parallel relation to the stitching 18. rlhis produces what is known as a corded or closed seam designated in general by the numeral 21. The free `end portion 17 of the band is then folded about 'the edges of the marginal extensions 19 of both sections 10 and 11 as shown in Figure 2, an d the whole is then flattened down and secured by a line of stitching 22, as shown in Figure 3.

I/Vhenever occasion arises to increase the size of the garment at the side and waist band, it is of course necessary to rip out the stitches 22 and also the lines of stitching 18 and 20, nothing else beingA required to effect disconnection of the pieces or sections 10 and 11 as well as the sections of the band. The sections 10 and 11 may then be moved apart to the desired extent, the marginal extensions 19 being of course decreased in width. The seam is then put in at the new position in exactly the same manner as above described.

Referring to Figure 4t the condition of the parts when the garment is thus enlarged is clearly indicated. In this ligure the numerals .18, 20 and 22a designate the perforations left by the removal of the original lines of stitching 18, 2O and 22, and the reference characters 18h, 20" and 22h designate the corresponding new lines of stitching.

Thenever it is desired to decrease the size of the garment, the'sam'e lines of stitching are ripped out and the sections 10 and 11 decreased by reserving or forming the seam farther back, the marginal extensions 19 being of course then of greater width than before. It is quite apparent that it is absolutely unnecessary to detach the band sections from the leg sections 10 and 11 at any time and it is therefore obvious that the work of making alterations is simplified to the greatest possible extent.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention and a certain method of stitching, together withy other specific details, it should of course be understood that I reserve the right to make all such changes in the arrangement, combination and stitching as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

Pants or trousers construction embodying leg sections united at the back of the trousers by a seat seam formed of a plurality of lines of stitching passing through the leg sections at a distance from the edges thereof to provide marginal extensions folded back upon each other and lying against one of the leg sections, and waist band sections secured to the leg sections by said lines of stitching, one waist band section terminating flush with the edge of one marginal extension and the other having a free end portion to constitute a tongue projecting beyond the edge of the marginal exk tension of the section to which it is secured, said free end of the waist band section being folded over the edges of the marginal extensions and engaged between said extensions and the leg section against which they lie, and a line of stitching uniting the folded back marginal extensions and the underlying waist band extension to the leg section against which they lie.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoingl as my own, I have hereto ai'ixed my signature.

FREDERICK LEWIS Mol/IULLEN. 

